Heaven Give Me Say
by RinsDarkMagician
Summary: Everyone is scared of something, even if it seems like it's not possible.
1. Confinement

**_Recently I just experienced the worst fright of my life. I was terrified so I wrote this to remind myself that I'm not alone. The person who you think is completely invincible can be scared of things that you might think are pathetic. _**

* * *

><p>"In and out, right? We're not going to stay longer than we have to, right? We go in, look around, and come back out, right?"<p>

Eles stood in front of the large house, her legs shaking as well as her voice. Her fear was evident, but there was no turning back now. The orchestra had a mission and it needed to be completed. It was simple enough. They only had to investigate a house on the outskirts of a city. The citizens believed the house had a few guignols inside and if that were indeed the case, they wanted the horrific creatures to be exterminated.

However, to Eles, the house seemed more frightening than any guignol. It was a large two story house, which looked like it hadn't been cared for in years. There were weeds and overgrown grass taking over the front yard. The house itself looked like it could fall on their heads at any moment. Lucille had already walked up to the front porch and looked inside the windows, though it was impossible to see anything due to the fact the windows were layered with dust.

"No one has seriously come within a mile of this house in ages," Lucille whispered more to himself than the others.

"We should leave then! I mean if there are guignols in there they obviously aren't bothering anyone, so there's no reason to bother them!" Eles tried to argue. Lucille turned to look at her, a smirk already on his face.

"Are you scared, my dear? Don't worry. Nothing's going to hurt you," Lucille said as he made his way back over to his team.

"This house doesn't look safe…by any means. Regardless if there are guignols in here or not it would be safer for us to just leave."

"Wouldn't it always be safer for us to just leave?" Kohaku said. "Suck it up, Eles. Maybe if we actually walked inside instead of just staring at the door we could leave sooner."

"Smartest thing I've ever heard come out of you, Kohaku!" Lucille teased him and lightly patted his shoulder, ignoring the glare he received from the other man. "Let's go, Eles. I promise we'll be safe. If there are guignols in here then we'll take care of them like we normally do. And don't let the house intimidate you. We'll be in and out before you know it."

The three men began to walk to the door, leaving Eles to debate whether she wanted to follow them or not. She decided that if she had to be in danger she wouldn't do it alone. She ran after them as soon as she saw Lucille open the door. They walked inside and took in their surroundings.

"My, my…the house is bigger on the inside," Lucille said, once again more to himself than anyone around him.

Much to Eles' dismay she had to agree. The house was massive. On the first floor alone there were what seemed to be three living rooms divided by walls. The front entrance had a long hallway that went to who knew where. The stairs looked less than inviting as they seemed to only lead to darkness. Eles was more then ready to leave.

"We'll split up!" Lucille announced, clapping his hands together and turning to face to others. "This is a big house and we'll get done much quicker if we decide to do things separately."

"You want us to go alone?" Eles nearly yelled.

"Not alone…we'll split into teams of two. I wouldn't put you through the torture of having us all separate, Eles. I'm not that cruel."

In no time it was decided that Kohaku and Lucille would team up and Gwindel and Eles would team up. Lucille would have loved to have been paired up with Eles, but he knew he wouldn't have been able to calm her down if she happened to get scared. At least he wouldn't have been able to calm her down as effectively as Gwindel. If Eles were with Lucille she would worry about him should he have had to fight; if she was paired up with Gwindel there would be no problems at all.

"All righty, everyone! Kohaku and I will take the upstairs and you two take the downstairs. Shout if you need anything!" Lucille waved them off as he and Kohaku made their way up the stairs.

Quickly and silently they checked all of the rooms, all of the closets, and under all of the beds. They didn't come across any guignols. Soon the two men were at the last of the rooms. They walked inside and took a quick look around before checking thoroughly.

"There's nothing in here, Lucille. What a waste of time," Kohaku said. He didn't hide the disappointment in his voice. It had been a while since anything exciting happened and he was about to die from boredom.

"I suppose you're right. And I haven't heard anything from Eles or Gwindel either. I guess the people of the city were just paranoid. Oh, did you check that closet? Do a good look through, just in case."

Kohaku lazily looked to the side wall to see a closed closet door. He personally would have preferred Lucille to look inside, but he didn't mention it and went to open the door. He noticed the door handle was rather flimsy, but ignored it and took a peek inside. There didn't appear to be anything unusual, but it was a walk-in closet so there could have been anything sneaking around further inside. Kohaku hesitantly stepped inside and began to walk towards the far wall. His breath hitched as he heard the slam of a door behind him. Darkness surrounded him and he suddenly didn't know which way was which.

"Lucille?" He called out, trying to keep his voice steady.

He heard a giggle from outside and then a knock on the door. "Are you stuck in there?"

"It's not funny, Lucille! Let me out!" Kohaku called, fumbling to grab the doorknob. At the same time Lucille had grabbed the knob. With the force of Kohaku desperately pulling it and Lucille barely turning it, the worst possible scenario for Kohaku occurred.

"It fell off," Lucille said as he held the knob in his hand.

"What the hell? Put it back on! Get me out of here, Lucille!" Kohaku attached his side of the knob back to the door, or at least he tried to. The house was so old it was a wonder he had gotten the door open in the first place. Neither of them were able get the knobs back in the door.

"No, no, no! Get me out of here! Get me out of here now!" Kohaku shouted, banging on the door with his fists.

Lucille stared at the door, wondering what the big deal was. How often did people do stupid things like get stuck in closets? It certainly wasn't anything to get frantic over. Lucille wondered if Kohaku was just as scared of the house as Eles was, but in that same instant it occurred to him that it wasn't the house Kohaku was afraid of.

"Get me out, now! Lucille, do something! I want out now!"

"Umm…I'll see what I can do. Hang on," Lucille said to him. He looked around the room, but saw nothing that would help his situation. He was about to suggest to Kohaku to just use his gun to shoot the door, but then he thought otherwise. Kohaku certainly didn't remember himself that he had guns and if he wasn't calm enough to remember that, then he was in no way calm enough to use one. Lucille secretly wished that it would remain that way. Kohaku didn't need to be using any weapons at all considering how hysterical he was getting.

"Lucille! Get me out of here, please!"

Now he was begging? The situation wasn't as funny as it had started out. "Calm down, Kohaku. Just take a deep breath and-"

"NO! Let me out! Let me out! I'm serious, Lucille! I want to get out! Get me out of here!"

Lucille covered his ears as Kohaku screamed at the top of his lungs. There was no way Eles and Gwindel missed that shout, not to mention Kohaku hadn't let up banging on the door yet. If he kept it up then perhaps the door would just fall over.

"Listen, I just got an idea. Gwindel can break this door down. I'll run and get him so he can get you out, okay?"

"No," Kohaku said and stopped banging on the door. Lucille had barely heard the word come through the door, but he was certain it had been said.

"No?" Lucille questioned.

"No, don't leave me alone. Don't go. Stay here. Just get me out, but please don't go."

Lucille just shook his head in confusion. Kohaku had never sounded like this before. Lucille could almost feel his terror, but there was nothing either of them could do. When did Kohaku suddenly get a horrible case of claustrophobia?

"Kohaku, there's nothing I can do for you here. The only way I can help you is to get Gwindel. Are you sure you can't stay here by yourself for just one minute?"

"No, please!" Kohaku cried, starting to smack the door again. "Don't go! Don't do it! Don't leave me, please! No! No! No!"

Lucille was at a complete loss. There was nothing he could do until Gwindel and Eles finished their search and came upstairs to find them. The gravity of the situation had finally hit him full force. Kohaku was genuinely frightened. He never imagined he would ever see it, but it was true. Kohaku was scared.

"Hey, Kohaku…." Lucille said gently, hoping to start the process of getting him to calm down. However, that process was immediately interrupted by someone else shouting his name.

"Lucille!" Eles cried from below them. "We need your help! We found a group of guignols and there's more coming! They're coming from outside too! We need you guys!"

"Kohaku? Kohaku, listen. I have to go."

"No, no, no! Stay here! Don't go! You have to get me out of here!"

"And I will, I promise!" Lucille told him. "But Gwindel and Eles need my help. They came across some guignols and they need me too. I won't be long, I swear to you. Just hang tight for one minute!"

"No, no! Please, no! Lucille, wait! Don't go! Don't leave me here!" Kohaku continued to bang on the door, but it was pointless. He could sense that Lucille was long gone. He was alone. He was all by himself in a dark, tiny room with no one there to let him out.

He looked desperately around the room, but all he saw was more darkness. "Don't leave. Come back," he whispered again, knowing it was too late. "Please someone…." He begged, falling to the floor and crawling to a corner to hide himself in.

"Please, someone, I need help. Get me out of here. Someone, help me. Someone, let me out," he barely whispered the words, knowing no one could hear him. He covered his eyes so he wouldn't have to look at the walls closing in. It was only a matter of time before the walls would close in entirely. The darkness would consume him, the walls would devour him and if anyone did ever get the door open it would be far too late. There would be nothing left for them to rescue.

"No! Get me out! Let me out! Let me out! Can anyone hear me? Please get me out!"

It was futile. He was alone and no one would come to save him.

"All right, Gwin, here's where he's at. Kohaku, can you hear me? Kohaku?"

Lucille and the others quickly finished off the guignols and made their way back upstairs to get Kohaku. Lucille explained to them what had happened, but they didn't believe that Kohaku would get so hysterical over getting stuck in a closet.

Lucille knocked on the door to closet and called Kohaku's name again, but there was no response.

"Gwin, open the door," he commanded, suddenly regretting more so than ever for leaving Kohaku on his own. Gwin kicked the door and it easily swung open, revealing the sight inside.

Lucille ran to Kohaku who was sitting in the farthest corner of the closet, his knees to his chest and his head leaning against the wall.

"Kohaku, can you hear me? Kohaku?" Lucille asked. Kohaku's breaths came in short, quick gasps. The violinist moved his eyes to look at Lucille and then moved them to look at Eles and Gwin who were still standing in the doorway.

"He's hyperventilating. We need to get him out of here," Gwin said as he made his way into the cramped closet. Lucille managed to get passed him back to the main room, while Gwindel gathered the frightened Kohaku in his arms. All three made a dash for outside and ran away from the house as quickly as possible.

They made it back to the car with Kohaku still hyperventilating. They looked at each other, not sure what they should do.

"We should take him to the hospital!" Lucille said. "They can fix him."

"I fear we'll not get back in time before he suffocates himself." Gwindel said.

"What else should we do? Should we just keep him in the car until he calms down?" Eles asked.

Gwindel shook his head and laid Kohaku on the ground behind the car. "When someone is hyperventilating, they are getting too much oxygen and not enough carbon dioxide. In other words they are inhaling too much. We need to get him to start breathing in and out the normal amounts of oxygen and carbon dioxide. A bag should be able to help us with that. Do we have one?"

Lucille nodded quickly, though he was unsure as to whether they had a bag or not. He jumped in the back seat and rummaged through a few things, cursing himself for making Kohaku go in the closet. Eventually, Lucille was successful in finding a bag and brought it to Gwindel.

The larger man held the bag to cover Kohaku's mouth and nose. He took Kohaku's hand and placed it on his chest and began to breathe in and out very slowly.

"Do you feel how I'm breathing, Kohaku? This is how you should breathe. In and out. Slowly, now. In and out."

Kohaku kept his eyes on Gwindel. His chest hurt from the way he was breathing, but he couldn't stop. He couldn't get back to breathing normally.

"Come on, Kohaku. Breathe. You don't want to suffocate, do you? Breathe. In," Gwindel took a deep inhale. "And out," he slowly released his breath, letting Kohaku feel the way his chest slowly rose and fell.

'_In and out.'_ Kohaku thought to himself. _'In and out. Just like Gwindel. In and out.'_

Kohaku closed his eyes as he tried to focus on his breathing. He didn't know why he had a bag over his face, but he figured someone must have thought it was a good idea. He didn't know if it was the bag, his focus, or Gwindel, but he felt himself start to slow his breathing.

The others watched on as Gwindel tried to get Kohaku to relax. His techniques seemed to be working. Kohaku's breathing went from short breaths to long inhales that sounded like gasps and long exhales that sounded like low moans. Eventually, when Gwindel thought it was safe, he removed the bag from Kohaku's face. Lucille and Eles were relieved to hear Kohaku's breathing back to normal or at least close to it. He sounded as if he had just overexerted himself, but that was a much better sound than hearing him try to gasp for air.

"Are you okay?" Lucille asked.

"I'm fine." Kohaku said, continuing to get his breathing under control.

"Do you enough carbon dioxide in you now?" Eles asked.

Kohaku stopped for a moment and just stared at Eles, wondering what on earth she was talking about. He was too tired to even bother with it so he just nodded his head and did his best to sit up. The others quickly rushed to his side to help him, but he held up a hand and shook his head. He stood by himself and finally took one long inhale and let it out slowly.

"I'm better. We should get moving," he said. He walked slowly the car and climbed into the back seat, indicating he was ready to go. He obviously was hoping to forget the entire situation even occurred, though that wouldn't be so easy for his comrades. The others all rustled into the front seat of the car, leaving Kohaku on his own in the back.

"I'm fine, guys. You don't all have to crowd up there just to give me space," Kohaku said in a low voice.

Lucille just smiled at him. He could tell the violinist was embarrassed, even ashamed at what just happened. He hated to show weakness in front of them and they all definitely figured out what it was that could bring Kohaku to his knees.

"We just thought a little air would be nice for you right now. Trust me, you won't get that back seat to yourself all the time."

Kohaku smirked and decided he might as well take advantage of their kindness. Normally he would have demanded someone sit in the back seat with him; he didn't want them to show him any sympathy. He propped his feet on the seat and rested his back on the car wall, letting his head fall to his chest.

"Kohaku?" He heard Eles whisper his name.

"Hmm?"

"I didn't know you were claustrophobic. That must have been pretty scary for you. You could have told us, you know."

Kohaku didn't say anything. He would have argued with her about how they all had their secrets, but it would have been pointless. He kept his eyes closed and his head down, hoping Eles would get the picture and leave him alone.

"Did something happen to make you scared of cramped places?" Eles asked.

'_Nosy little thing….'_ Kohaku thought. But he figured an answer would satisfy them all and they could forget the whole thing instead of bother him about it over and over again.

"I fell in a well when I was little. I was playing by myself, I peeked in the well, and I lost my balance. I was stuck in there from dawn til dusk. I cried and screamed, but no one heard me. Eventually my mom found me and she and some other people got me out. Ever since then I've been terrified of enclosed spaces."

"You've been okay riding in the car though," Eles pointed out.

"There are windows in here. That closet was small and cramped and I couldn't see any way out. I thought I was going to die when I was stuck in that well and I feel the same way when I'm stuck in enclosed spaces."

"Oh," Eles said. She left it at that, knowing Kohaku didn't want to talk about it anymore. After a few moments she turned around to face him again to make sure he had fallen asleep. He was exhausted so she was right in assuming he would fall asleep right away. She turned back to look at Lucille and tapped his shoulder.

"Don't make fun of him about this, okay? People can't control what they fear so don't tease him."

"Why would I do that?" Lucille asked, putting his hand on her head. "Do you think so little of me, Eles? I wouldn't tease him about this. He genuinely frightened me. I thought he was going to run out of air."

Eles didn't say anything as she carefully climbed from the front seat to the back seat and sat on the ground. Lucille stared at her for a moment before smiling and turning back to the windshield.

"He'll be happy to see you back there," Lucille said. "I guess everyone is afraid of something, even if it seems impossible for it to be true."


	2. Dead End

Some people had a lot of nerve. How could someone ask for help and be insulting at the same time? Was it even possible? Of course it was. Lucille had just experienced it first hand.

Not that this was his first time experiencing such rude behavior from people they were supposed to be saving. He was still bitter about the people from Eles' hometown. They actually called him a wench and told him to dance naked and then had the gall to ask for help! Not that the people wanted his help, only the town lord did, but he counted that! No one even showed up to the show the orchestra put on.

But the people from this town beat the people from Eles' town by a long shot. He never imagined he would be so offended in his entire life. He never minded being a called a woman, he was used to it. These people thought he was a woman as well and at first he didn't care, but then they tried to touch him! They actually tried to take him away from the group so they could "have a little bit of dirty fun" as they so politely put it. Suddenly Gwindel and Kohaku were playing bodyguard to Lucille. Kohaku actually had to take out his gun to get the people away from him!

"Quite the predicament we got ourselves into back there," Gwindel said, steering the car in the opposite direction of the town.

"We didn't get ourselves into anything!" Lucille screamed. "Those raunchy little nobodies back there can get eaten by every guignol on the continent for all I care!"

Eles looked over at Lucille and spoke in as small of a voice as she could. "So, we're really going to leave them there to get eaten?"

"Absolutely! I was never paid! Do you see money in my hand, Eles? I don't see any money!" Lucille shoved his hands in her face. There was indeed no money there. "No payment, no guignol extermination!"

A snicker came from Kohaku's mouth, but it was very brief due to the fact Lucille had hit him in the back of the head as soon as he heard it.

"What the hell was that for?" Kohaku yelled.

"For laughing at me!"

"I wasn't laughing at you, you moron!"

"Then what was that snicker, hmm?"

"That snicker was me laughing at the people of the town!"

"I don't believe you!"

Eles rubbed her temples. It was amazing how loud the two of them were able to get. They would probably be able to shout to each other from miles away and hear every word perfectly. Eles moaned loudly and hit her head on the back of Gwindel's seat. She heard him chuckle and looked up at him as he called her name.

"Don't worry, Eles. They'll tire themselves out soon enough."

Eles just shook head, hoping it would be true. She honestly felt bad for the people of that town. As they were leaving Lucille told her they would return eventually to make sure everyone had been bit so he could contact the queen to have the town destroyed. They've arrived late before and had to do that, so this would be one of those unfortunate circumstances.

Somehow she didn't believe Lucille was that cruel. She noticed Gwindel wasn't driving away from the town very quickly and she also knew Lucille wouldn't throw a chance to get money out the window just because some people thought he was a harlot. Besides, he wasn't the type to let innocent people get devoured by guignols. He was just angry and in a matter of time he would calm down, listen to reason, and return to the town with a new game plan on how to handle the citizens and the guignols.

At least she thought that's what would have occurred if Gwindel hadn't stopped the car. She was confused, but grateful because him stopping the car made Kohaku and Lucille quiet.

Everyone was silent. It was probably the most silent the car had ever been with the four of them in it. Eles decided to sink back into her seat and simply observe everything that was going on. Gwindel had calmly put the car in park and sat at the steering wheel, staring out of the window as if nothing were wrong. Kohaku, with his foot over the front seat probably in order to start beating on Lucille, was staring at Gwindel. He was confused to say the least and seemed to have forgotten all about his argument with Lucille. Lucille, however, had murder in his eyes. He looked as if he wanted to steal Kohaku's gun and shoot anyone who made him angry. This time, that person happened to be Gwindel.

"Why did we stop?" Kohaku asked after about five minutes of all of them being quiet.

"I don't want to go any farther. I would have turned around and gone back to the town, but Lucille would have probably stolen the wheel and gotten us all killed."

Eles looked over at Lucille. She didn't understand Gwindel's actions any more than he did, but she wasn't nearly as upset about it.

"You don't want to go any farther? What? What are you talking about? Just go!"

"I refuse."

"You refuse? What is your problem, Gwindel?"

Eles sunk deeper into the seat. Why did Gwindel suddenly pick now, when Lucille was extremely angry, to be rebellious? She shook her head as she thought that today might actually be the day. Today might be the day where they all finally snap and kill each other, leaving her on her own to wonder what on earth happened.

"There's a bridge over there, Lucille," Gwindel said calmly. "It's a little wooden one. We can drive across it, but it seems pretty unstable. We weren't supposed to be driving this way anyway. I say we go back to the town, do our job, and leave in the appropriate direction."

"That bridge looks fine, Gwindel!" Lucille nearly screamed. He jumped out of the car and slammed the door. Kohaku followed him, most likely just curious about the bridge that was halting their progress. When they left Gwindel leaned over and locked the door to the front of the car.

"Do you mind, Eles?"

Eles looked around and was about to leave the car as well when he stopped her. He chuckled again and shook his head. "I meant do you mind locking the door to the back seat?"

"Oh!" she said. She didn't mind, but that would only put Lucille in a worse mood. Yet she trusted Gwindel, so she did as he asked. Together they watched Kohaku and Lucille observe the bridge. They were still shouting at each other. Eles found it amusing until they made their way back to the car. They tried opening their doors at the same time only to find them locked. Lucille tried it once more, as if he didn't believe the door was actually locked.

"What the hell? Open this door right this instant! Right now, I said!"

Eles covered her ears with her hands as Lucille started to bang on the door. Kohaku grabbed him around his waist and pulled him away.

"Does he think I can't break the windows with my voice? I can! I'll do it! Watch me!"

He did open his mouth and began to sing in a shrill voice. Kohaku was certain he would have been able to break the windows had he not covered the singer's mouth with his hand. Lucille struggled with him, but he wasn't able to break free from his grip. What in the world was Gwindel thinking?

"Gwindel," Eles said, leaning over to the front seat to get a better look at him. "Why did you do that?"

"Why did I lock the door or why did I stop the car?"

"Both."

"I locked the door because Kohaku and Lucille were getting on my nerves. Trust me, I know it seems like Lucille will only get angrier, but he won't. He'll calm down and he'll tell us to go back to the town."

"Okay," Eles agreed. She wasn't sure if that would actually be the case, but she hoped it would be. "So why did you stop the car?"

"I told you. The bridge up ahead looks unstable. I don't want to cross it."

Eles peaked out of the windshield to actually get a look at the bridge he was talking about. It seemed fine to her. It was true that it was made of wood, but the wood looked sturdy enough to hold several cars at the same time.

"I don't think the bridge is unstable at all."

Gwindel didn't say anything as he watched Kohaku wrestle Lucille to the ground. Eles knew Gwindel was avoiding her statement. She knew that he knew nothing was wrong with the bridge. Something else was the matter. There was something that made it so Gwindel wouldn't cross that bridge.

"What do you think is wrong with the bridge?" Eles asked. "You think it's not sturdy, right? What else is wrong with it?"

"Should there be anymore reason than the fact that it's not sturdy for me not to cross it?" Gwindel asked back to her.

"Well…it's a good reason, but I don't think that's the only reason. What else?"

Gwindel pet his hedgehog, not letting Eles see the small smile forming on his face. "You're just going to keep asking me about this, aren't you?"

Eles nodded. "At least until Kohaku and Lucille are done fighting."

Gwindel hesitated a moment, just looking at his hedgehog who was looking at Lucille and Kohaku. He didn't want to tell Eles the truth, but he had no reason not to. He trusted her and her innocence. He didn't feel so bad about his situation considering Kohaku had just recently revealed his worst fear, even if it was accidental.

"I just…don't like bridges. I think people need to keep their feet on the ground. If we were meant to pass over a cliff or a river then the earth would build it's own bridge. Man made bridges are dangerous and could collapse at any moment."

"You're scared of bridges?" Eles asked bluntly.

"I fear bridges collapsing, not the bridge itself."

"How often do you hear of bridges collapsing though? It's pretty rare that it happens. I mean, it's stupid to think that it could never happen, but it is highly unlikely."

"There's always that chance though," Gwindel said, cringing as he watched Kohaku begin to pull Lucille's hair. "I don't trust things that are out of my control. I can't control whether a bridge falls or not, but I can control if I go on that bridge."

"I suppose so." Eles said. A few more moments passed and she noticed that Lucille and Kohaku were beginning to slow down. They weren't running around as much or trying to hit each other as much. Perhaps they would return calm and then Lucille could make a decision as to whether or not to go back to the town.

"I'll cross a bridge if I must. I don't prefer to, but sometimes there's simply no avoiding it."

"Were you always scared of bridges?"

"As I said I'm not scared of bridges, I fear that they will collapse. And no, I didn't always have that fear."

"What brought it on, if you don't mind me asking?"

Gwindel knew that question was coming. Throughout their whole conversation he had gone over in his head how he would answer it. He didn't want to reveal too much to her, but she needed to know enough so she wouldn't keep asking questions.

"I once saw a little girl playing on a bridge. She was cute little girl. She lived close to me; I had seen her many, many times," Gwindel said. "I was watching her, but not closely enough. I was distracted by other things when I should have been paying attention to her. The bridge she was playing on was unstable, but I didn't think anything of it. The two of us had crossed that bridge several times and I didn't mind her playing on it. On this particular day though, the wind was strong and was swaying the bridge. The ropes holding up the bridge snapped and she fell into the river below."

"Oh, no!" Eles cried, holding her hands to her mouth. "Oh my goodness...was she okay, Gwindel?"

"She broke her arm and she had a few cuts and bruises. Because of the water we didn't see the rocks there. She had fallen on them and hurt herself. I took her home and treated the wounds as best as I could."

Eles breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh thank goodness you were watching her, Gwindel! If she had been there alone then…oh, I don't even want to think about it."

"Me neither," Gwindel agreed. "She wasn't severely hurt, but…to see a young girl in trouble like that is pretty frightening. Since then I've just never trusted bridges."

"I understand." Eles said while nodding her head. She looked genuinely concerned for the girl in Gwindel's story. She truly did understand why he didn't like bridges. She would feel the same way if she had to witness that.

"Hopefully Lucille won't make us cross the bridge then," she said.

"If he's serious about leaving that town to get destroyed then I'll cross the bridge," Gwindel told her. "Though I think he's calming down some. Screaming and fighting with Kohaku will tire anyone out."

A giggle left Eles' mouth. "Screaming and fighting with Lucille will tire anyone out too."

"This is true," Gwindel said as he reached over to unlock the door. Eles followed his action, noticing Kohaku and Lucille making their way back to the car.

"Thank you for not locking me out again," Lucille said as he stepped into the car. He slammed the door behind him and rested his head on the window, Kohaku doing the same. The car was silent again. Lucille and Kohaku had released all of their energy outside and they seemed now to only want to go to sleep.

"Lucille?" Gwindel called to him. "What did you want to do?"

"Go back to the town," Lucille quickly responded. "We'll save those ungrateful people, but only because I'm nice."

"You're not nice at all," Kohaku mumbled.

"Shut up," was Lucille's clever comeback.

Eles was shocked to hear that they would be going back to the town. Gwindel had been right. All it would take for Lucille to see reason was to calm down and get over his anger. It had been that simple.

"That's fine," Gwindel said.

Gwindel started the car and turned around, heading back to the town. Eles peaked into the front seat again and smiled at him.

"Bridge avoided!"

"Just this once," Gwindel told her, smiling right back at her. "This is one of those fears we'll have to overcome again and again."


	3. Dreams of Leaving

He carefully observed his surroundings from high above. He was a predator and everyone knew it. Just like a cat he easily stalked his prey and waited patiently for the right opportunity to strike...and he never missed. A flawless killer, a proud hunter, a deliverer of death...he was all of these things. Nothing could take him down. He had absolutely no weaknesses.

Or so it was thought.

"What the hell is that? Where did it come from?"

Carnelian calmly looked from Berthie who was perched on a tree branch to what ever it was that was bothering him on the ground.

"Oh...a dog."

The dog barely came up to Carnelian's shins. He walked over to it and lightly tapped it on the head. The dog cheerfully barked and wagged it's tail furiously, giving the man in front of him pleading eyes.

"It seems he wants to play," Carnelian said.

"I'm not playing with that...that beast!"

Beast? Carnelian looked intently at the dog wondering where Berthie saw a beast in the animal. It was just a cute and harmless puppy. There was no reason for Berthie to be so...afraid?

"Are you...scared of dogs?" Carnelian looked at Berthie above him, ignoring the dog who was playfully pulling at his dress. Carnelian found it funny to think that Berthie feared anything, let alone dogs. It was an almost too perfect coincidence. He giggled a bit as he looked back at the tiny dog and reached down to touch it again; however, he had barely bent down when felt something heavy hit him in the small of his back. He cried out loudly and fell face forward, the dog quickly running to him and licking his face. Carnelian gave another cry as he felt another heavy something fall onto his back. It didn't take him long to realize it was Berthie's foot.

"I'd watch what I say if I were you, Bat." Berthie warned in a menacing voice. "To accuse me of fearing anything would be like saying you're actually worth something."

Carnelian cringed as Berthie dug his foot deeper into his back. His intention hadn't been to tease Berthie or make fun of him or accuse him of anything. However, he knew Berthie's personality and he should have known better than to say anything that could be taken as offensive.

"I'm...I'm sorry." Carnelian managed to get out. His apology wasn't really for offending Berthie; he was apologizing mostly as a plea for his life to be spared. Panic rose inside of him since he knew his companion wasn't afraid to take another person's life with that monstrous sword of his. He was about to beg some more when he heard a yelp next to him. The small dog was barking at Berthie, doing it's best to scare him so he would leave Carnelian alone. Carnelian heard the chuckle of the other man and felt the weight lift off of him. He knew what was going to happen next.

"No, don't kill him!" Carnelian screamed. He moved as quickly as he could and covered the dog with his body. He released a loud shriek as he felt even more pain in his back. He knew he had been cut; he could feel the blood pouring down his back, but at the moment he didn't care. He gathered the dog in his arms and did his best to stand.

"Is that dog really worth sacrificing your life for?" Berthie asked, holding his sword out to Carnelian's neck once he had stood. The two men looked at each other, one smirking and the other cowering in fear, before Carnelian finally took off in the opposite direction.

He didn't know how long he had been running, but he didn't stop until he was sure he hadn't been followed. He eventually collapsed, though he did everything in his power to stay at least sitting on his knees. The dog jumped out of his arms as he fell, whimpering and gently licking Carnelian's hands.

"You have to go," Carnelian struggled to get out. He already knew his wound wasn't fatal. If it was he wouldn't have made it as far as he did. He almost wished the blow had killed him. He knew he had no choice but to go back to that man. He shivered and hugged himself as he thought of Berthie's shrill laugh and ghostly face. Carnelian thought he had seen all of the evil he could ever see, but he never imagined he would ever come face to face, let alone work with, the devil himself. Berthie was...terrifying.

"Go. Please, go," Carnelian pleaded with the dog. If Berthie found him with the dog he wouldn't hesitate to attempt to kill it again and probably succeed.

"Go!" Carnelian yelled. The dog backed up and stared at Carnelian, unsure of what to do. However, the dog didn't have to make a decision. It was made for him and he wouldn't be going anywhere. Carnelian jumped and gave a small cry as the dog was suddenly impaled with a blade. The death was instantaneous, but shocking nevertheless. Carnelian sat there, his hand to his heart and mouth agape, a moan accompanying each breath he took.

His eyes slowly moved from the now lifeless dog, still staked on the sword, to a pair of feet that stood next to it. He moved his eyes upward to see long legs, a torso, and then finally a most familiar and horrific face.

"You're bleeding so much, Bat. Let's get you fixed up, shall we?" Berthie said with as much concern as he could muster. Carnelian could tell he was feigning it, but he didn't dare move a muscle. Frozen to the spot he watched as Berthie stepped on the carcass of the dog to remove it from his sword. As Berthie walked passed Carnelian he ran his fingers through his hair, sending shivers up the other man's spine.

"You know, Carnelian," Berthie said, calling his companion by his name for the first time, though Carnelian personally hoped he never had to hear his name come from those lips again. "I firmly believe that if you fear something it's in your best interest to destroy it so it never haunts you again."

Carnelian slowly and carefully stood so as not to aggravate his wound. He glared daggers into the back of Berthie's head, very much aware that the man hiding behind the cat mask knew exactly was it was that he feared the most.

"I will take your advice someday..." Carnelian said, just loud enough for Berthie to hear him and with just a hint of venom. "...though not today."

* * *

><p><strong>Hah! I bet this chapter took you by surprise huh? Wasn't expecting our favorite cat and bat, were you? Well, Berthie being scared of dogs was more of a joke than anything else...we all know who the focus was in this chapter. Carnelian is gonna make me proud, I know it! Stay strong! <strong>


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